Follows Inmates’ Assault: Court Unions Lash Out at Jails Chief

Follows Inmates' Assault

Court Unions Lash Out at Jails Chief

In the wake of a violent courtroom attack by two high-risk defendants, the unions representing court officers Jan. 23 urged their members to search all criminal defendants before bringing them into court.

MARTIN HORN: Denies lapse on searches. The unions charged that the added protective measure is necessary because Correction Officer staff cuts by Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn have jeopardized public safety. Many of the city's courthouses have pens where more than 100 inmates are placed and guarded by Correction Officers before their cases are called.

'Can't Trust Horn'

"We no longer feel that we can trust Commissioner Horn to ensure that Correction Officers will do their jobs," contended John McKillop, the president of the Supreme Court Officers' Association. "For that reason, we need to step up and make sure that all the safety procedures have been followed."

Tom Antenen, the Correction Department's chief spokesman, denied that purported personnel reductions played a role in the Jan. 19 attack. "This had nothing to do with staff cuts or trying to save on overtime," he asserted. "There was a failure to follow basic security procedures, both by correction and court officer staff."

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James HARSH WORDS FOR HORN: Court Officers' Association President Dennis Quirk (left) delivered scathing criticism of the impact that alleged staff cuts by Correction Commissioner Martin Horn have had on security in transporting prisoners from the jails to the courts. A spokesman for Mr. Horn denied such cuts had been made, but the complaint was echoed by Correction Captains' Association President Peter Meringolo (to Mr. Quirk's immediate left) and Supreme Court Officers' Association President John McKillop (at far right).

David Bookstaver, the spokesman for the Office of Court Administration, disagreed. "There was absolutely no failure on the part of the court officers or the court system," he asserted.

Correction Officers delivered Kayson Pearson and Troy Hendrix to the Brooklyn courthouse in leg irons, belly chains, and with mitts on their hands. But they were never pat-frisked or sent through a magnetometer upon entering the courthouse, according to Mr. Antenen. "We have a lot of this on videotape," he added.

"Mr. Antenen is clearly not familiar with the protocols of the court system, which states clearly that discretionary searches are not mandatory," Mr. Bookstaver said.

Tortured Murder Victim

The men were on trial for torturing, raping, and killing Hunter College student Ramona Moore. They used a sharpened Plexiglass blade and a piece of pointed eye glass metal to attack their lawyer and several Court Officers. Their lawyer, Mitchell Dinnerstein, was stabbed in the face.

The assailants were subdued by Sgt. James Gorra and six of his colleagues after a heated struggle. "It's no exaggeration to say that they saved lives," Mr. McKillop said.

Mr. Gorra said he was retrieving evidence when the attack started. "When I turned, he was standing on the defense table coming at me with a weapon," he recalled. "I threw him on the ground with myself on top of him."

The inmate jabbed Mr. Gorra twice with the homemade weapon, but did not seriously injure him. Another Court Officer involved tore his leg's anterior cruciate ligament.

Mr. Bookstaver lauded Mr. Gorra and his colleagues. "These officers performed in an outstanding fashion, and secured a dangerous situation in a matter of seconds," he said.

Tried to Get Gun

The suspects unsuccessfully attempted to grab one of the officers' guns, but the weapon was tightly fastened in a special holster. "Thank God they didn't get the gun," Mr. Bookstaver said. "Thank God they didn't get badly hurt."

Norman Seabrook, the president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, said that the incident highlighted "the type of barbaric behavior that some inmates are notorious for displaying against Correction Officers and Court Officers on a daily basis." He also instructed his members to carefully search each prisoner.

By most accounts, the Correction Officers and Court Officers involved in transporting and guarding the defendants failed to follow key directives. Mr. Antenen acknowledged that a breakdown in "basic security procedures" occurred.

"As we analyze the videotapes, it's clear that a Correction Officer failed to patfrisk the inmates after they came off the bus, and also, the Court Officers did not do a pat-frisk when they took custody of these inmates, as we believe their policy requires," he said.

"He is mistaken regarding our policy," Mr. Bookstaver replied.

Mr. Antenen retorted, "Maybe yes and maybe no isn't a security policy."

Dennis W. Quirk, the president of the Court Officers' Association, questioned whether the inmates were strip-searched on Rikers Island before they were brought to the court pen. "We believe that Correction Officers are being forced to move quickly and cut down time," he remarked at a press conference outside Brooklyn Supreme Court. "That has jeopardized safety here."

Claims Search at Jail

Mr. Antenen maintained that the men had been searched before they were moved to the court.

The court union officials and Correction Captains' Association President Peter D. Meringolo placed much of the blame on Mr. Horn and his managers, asserting that a proper strip-search was never conducted.

"I can understand what happened in the courts, because staff has been cut, even in our own jails," Mr. Meringolo said. The union president has been in a bitter dispute with Mr. Horn concerning the department's disciplinary procedures.

"Yelling about blame doesn't fix the problem," Mr. Antenen said. "The constructive course is to determine what went wrong and fix it."

He noted that the department has shuttered several jails and disbanded and merged multiple units as the city's inmate population has continued to decrease over the past few years. The city currently houses roughly 13,500 inmates, down from 18,000 in 1999.

Quirk: 'Horn's a Liar'

But Mr. Quirk charged that those cuts have created safety problems in the city's courts. "Commissioner Horn is a liar," he said, referring to department assertions that no significant reductions have been made.

Correction Officers at various courthouses all say there have been major reductions, Mr. Quirk added. "We are not sure of the numbers, because you have to rely on [Commissioner Horn] for the numbers and he has a hard time telling the truth," he said. "We don't want another Atlanta."

He was referring to last March's fatal courthouse shooting in Georgia. Authorities there have since charged Brian Nichols in the murder of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, Court Reporter Julie Ann Brandau and Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley after he overpowered a deputy and stole her pistol while he was being transferred from a detention area into the courtroom.

"We have always advocated that there needs to be many more Correction Officers in the department, and we will continue to maintain that position," Mr. Seabrook said.

Sidney Schwartzbaum, the president of the Assistant Deputy Wardens'/Deputy Wardens' Association, said he would be instructing his members not to reduce the number of officers in the central intake area, where inmates are first searched before being brought into the jails.

'Don't Point Fingers Yet'

"Prior to casting stones and pointing fingers, all parties should reserve judgment," he added. "There are several procedures pertaining to these classified red ID inmates that must be reviewed for compliance."

According to Mr. McKillop, only a strip-search would have detected the hidden weapons. Those searches are normally conducted on Rikers Island, but the court unions are now encouraging their members to strip-search any suspect inmates. "We are going to err on the side of caution," Mr. McKillop said.

Mr. Schwartzbaum and other correction officials said that idea wasn't practical. "There are no areas in the courthouses to conduct proper strip-searches," he noted.

Several court and correction insiders speculated that the recent animus between Mr. Quirk and Mr. Horn may stem from an incident several months ago involving a Probation Officer. Mr. Horn also heads the city's Probation Department.

According to multiple sources, Court Officers detained a Latino female Probation Officer for several hours after they mistakenly believed she had tried to slip past security. "It was a pretty heated incident," one official said.

Denies It's Related

"That has nothing to do with this," Mr. Quirk contended. But he claimed that the Probation Officer never identified herself and later alleged that she had been assaulted by the Brooklyn-based Court Officers. "The videotape shows that the officer just grabbed her arm," he remarked.

The Probation Department filed a report concerning the incident faulting the Court Officers. But Mr. Quirk charged that the report was falsified and he has since sent it to the city's Department of Investigation to examine. "We have no faith in his ability to conduct an independent investigation," he said.

"Commissioner Horn is not going to get into a back-and-forth with a leader of a union that does not represent either of the organizations that he is responsible for," replied Jack Ryan, the Probation Department's chief spokesman.

Shifting Responsibility

Last summer, the city and state quietly agreed to use state Court Officers to transport inmates awaiting trial in pens near Manhattan courtrooms. The move initially involved shifting 13 positions. But it could eventually affect 100 Correction Officers, who view the assignment as a coveted position. It could also save the city millions, officials familiar with the plan have said.

"To us it was an indication that he was cutting back on personnel," Mr. McKillop said, referring to Mr. Horn. Most Court Officers are reluctant to take over roles that have traditionally been carried out by their colleagues in a different agency.

The shift will give OCA more control of the courthouses, which are maintained by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. But it will also increase the state's operating costs.